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Strengthen Your Pelvic Floor in Two Easy Steps!

Posted by: Kylan Pimley, Director of Program Development on Monday, February 13, 2017

There's no debate that pregnancy, labor and delivery change a woman's body. The obvious physical changes include back pain, swelling, fatigue, nausea and difficulty sleeping. The physical change of a woman's pelvic floor can sometimes be subtle until the birth recovery stage.

Strengthening your pelvic floor is important during and after pregnancy. Your pelvic floor muscles sit under your uterus, bladder, and bowel. A strong pelvic floor supports internal organs and maintains the integrity of urinary continence. When engaging your pelvic floor, squeeze the muscles around the vagina, anus and surrounding areas equally. You can engage your pelvic floor when you’re driving, watching TV and prior to any exercise. It’s very important to keep your glutes, thighs and abdominals soft and isolate the engagement to only the pelvic floor muscles. Prior to pelvic floor exercises, empty your bladder.

Here are two easy exercises you can perform during and after pregnancy to keep your pelvic floor strong and pain free!

Exercise 1:

Lay on your back and place a pillow or ball between your legs.Inhale and exhale while tightening and releasing the pelvic floor muscles.Visualize squeezing the pillow or ball by using only the pelvic floor muscles; you’re not squeezing the pillow or ball with your knees.Repeat 10 times.

Exercise 2:

Lay on your back with your feet and knees together.On an inhale breath, lower your knees out to the side, keeping your feet together, like a butterfly.Squeeze your pelvic floor muscles to prepare and on an exhale breath draw the knees back together.Repeat 10 times.